The Last Mission
by mysterious advisor
Summary: Ten years later, Dylan finally agrees to become a Triumvir. But dangers appear once again in the Universe, and once with them, a new hope for the future is discovered. This is the crew's last mission... R&R please!
1. Chapter 1

I don't own Andromeda... sad, but true...

* * *

Ten years have passe since the Abyss had been sent away from the Known Worlds… destroyed once again for an unlimited period of time. The enemies of life were now gone, destroyed by the great force of the new Commonwealth, that had soon rejoined nearly all the worlds it once numbered. 

"I'm getting old." Dylan mumbled as he settled his suit in front of a full-size mirror, in the privacy of his cozy villa, somewhere near the capital of his beloved planet… Tarn Vedra…

"So?" a sarcastic female voice was heard behind, forcing him to turn and half glare, half stare at the blonde woman in front of him.

"Aren't we in a mood today…" he mumbled, as the woman's skilled hands took hold of his insignias and started arranging them on the dark material which covered his broad and still muscular chest.

"Speak for yourself." She chuckled lightly and made him turn around, so that he could admire her work. "Ever since you were told a month ago that they were supporting you for a place in the Triumvirate, you've been fusing like a mad man. Calm down!" she advised him even a bit exhausted and turned away, ready to leave.

"Where are you going?" he inquired, watching how the long blonde plait swung at her back with each of her movements.

"Ahem I see that you are ready, while I still have to settle some things." She glared back with light green eyes.

"You know, ten years ago I would've never thought you'd accept your heritage and become one of the most important Ladies in the Known Worlds." He smiled a bit evily.

"You know, ten years ago I would've never thought you'd accept a position as a Triumvir… but if you ask me, it was about bloody time." She mocked him in her usual style.

"Geez, thanks for the incredible consideration over my work, Beka."

"Well, it's not like I wasn't there to save your ass everytime you got in trouble." She grinned.

"Acting all lady-like until your old self makes itself noticed once again."

"If this consideration goes on, not only I'll be late… but you'll be late too…" she pointed out with a deep sigh.

"Aww, I didn't know you cared…"

"I always care." She frowned for a moment, but then sent him a charming smile. "I'll meet you downstairs in ten minutes." She turned around, allowing him to admire the way her black dress molded on her body. And why not? She had remained as beautiful as ever. Beka had turned from the rebel pilot into one of the most powerful senators at the time. No one had considered her capable of taking over her heritage… not even herself… but surprisingly enough, she ended up doing a hell of a job. And still, every once in a while, she would prove that inside her laid the same restless soul that would always love flying over negociating.

* * *

"What are you doing?" a careful Rommie silently entered the slipstream core and gazed over at her dearest engineer ever… Seamus Zelazny Harper. He looked up at her with his ususal blue eyes filled with innocence. His hair was spikey as usual and he still preferred casual clothes over suits and stuff. Still, today he was wearing one of his best formal outfits, specially picked for Dylan's ceremony. 

"I know it's boss' biggest day ever… but I can't help feeling bad…"

"And why is that?" she walked over to him and sat by his side.

"Because… you know… this means that we really won't be a team anymore… not the crew of Andromeda… and not even Maru's." he spoke softly, staring at the floor beneath his feet.

"Don't say that… just because Beka is now a Senator, Dylan a Triumvir and Rhade an Admiral, it doesn't mean that you won't remain the closest friends and your lives will be completely torn appart." She explained with a light smile. "And it's not like you're not Chief Engineer over the entire Commonwealth's fleet!" she nudged him playfully.

"Well… that does feel kinda' good…" he admitted and smiled as well.

"You see? Than, you don't have to be afraid that you're losing your friends… because you're not."

"I guess… Man , I know I'm getting old." He whined and got up, surprisingly with the same agillity as he used to, many years before. Hiding a chuckle, the ship's gorgeous avatar got up as well and followed him through the decks, to one of the awaiting ships that was going to get them to the planet's surface.

* * *

"Finally making Dylan a Triumvir will bring even more prosperity and success to the Commonwealth." Trance Gemini walked next to Admiral Telemachus Rhade. Her golden skin seemed to be brighter than usual and the Nietzscheean could sweare that he felt waves of warmth coming from her direction. 

"I agree… It was about time he took a place in the leadership." He nodded his head and kept on walking as stiff as always.

"Although I doubt that giving up Andromeda's command will please him."

"I am sure that the new High Guard can take care of its fleet's pride." Rhade smiled. "And plus, there are no more battles and wars to be taken care of."

"Except for the pyrians and few prides that still refuse Beka's command." Trance glanced at him, watching the emotions' game on his features.

"The Matriarh's existence and power are more than proved… although I must admit that if I had not met the Progenitor in the flesh, I do not know how much of the story I would have believed."

"But you trust her."

"How could I not? She remains my Matriarh… a former shipmate… and a friend…" he confessed with a low growl, which made Trance smile.

"The truth is that few people would've managed to do what she did." She spoke with confidence.

"If you are talking about raising the Progenitor's reincarnation, then yes, I agree."

"I care for Tamerlan and I think that he will be a great ruler when his time will come." Trance glanced at him again, while crossing the hallways to the largest council hall, where the gathering and the party were about to take place.

"And curiously enough he cares deeply for his caretaker, considering who his father was." The Admiral couldn't help himself.

"You know, there were times when everyone considered Beka and Tyr to be one step away from becoming a couple." The golden avatar sent him a look, watching his self-control take over his immediate reactions.

"And still, he betrayed her and the entire Commonwealth!" the Admiral gritted his teeth.

"The truth is that no on expected Beka herself to be the original Matriarh… the mother of all nietzcheeans."

"Not even you?" he sent her a curious stare. In response, Trance lowered her head and her skin simply flashed pure gold for a heartbeat.

"The perfect future was back then nearly impossible to be seen, but reached. There were many I had not seen before… and Beka's identity was the most important I had missed." She spoke while keeping her head lowered.

"Speaking of the devil." Rhade mumbled and the two looked up, watching Andromeda's former pilot walking towards them with a perhaps eleven or twelve year-old, stepping proudly right by her side.

"Hey guys." The blonde's voice welcomed them.

"Beka… Tamerlan…" Trance smiled sweetly.

"Hey Trance… Hello Admiral…" the boy returned the avatar's grin, but his face became impossibly serious at the sight of the imposing nietzcheean. Although the child was aware of his place and heritage among his people, he couldn't help but feel a huge respect for the Admiral… no matter how stiff he seemed to be in his presence. Yes, he cared deeply for Dylan and Harper, Rommie and Trance. But he respected Rhade almost as much as Beka… who he nearly loved as a mother.

"Milord… Matriarh…" the nietzcheean bowed to both of them.

"Rhade…" Beka started on a nearly enraged tone, but, fortunately, Dylan's voice forced her to stop abruptly. They all turned too see the new Triumvir, already dressed in the new uniform, with even moe insignias sparkling brightly on his chest. He was smiling, although they all knew that he was feeling like hell. He always preferred actions over words… but he was now left with only one choice.

"Hey, what's up?" Harper showed up as if he had simply teleported himself there. Not even paying the quartet a single look or allowing them to actually answer his question, he stared away at Dylan, who was still walking to them. With a big grin and a fast pulse, the short engineer left the surprised group and went straight to the former captain, shaking his hand thoughly and congradulating him on the new function. While both Rhade and Tamerlan gazed completely lost and the two men a few steps away, Beka turned to Trance and sawconcern displayed all over her face…concern and sadness…

* * *

'_And so a new chapter in my life begins…'_

Dylan thought as he walked through the empty hallways of his warship one last time. The empty and silent space remembered him of what it used to be like right before he escaped the event horizon from the Hephaestos black hole. Before he found Harper digging through the slipstream core for a map… before he warned Beka about destroying their entire amo supply… before learning that Rev Bem was probably the first and only civilized magog… before he first got used to Trance's childish, yet charming behaviour… before he first confronted Tyr… before he knew that his entire Universe was gone and that he had lived 300 year in a simple heartbeat.

* * *

Special thanks go to Ice Girl, MistyQue (especially for a name - you'll see it in the future chappies - ), The One (for waiting patiently every update and reminding me every once in a while that I have to keep writing) and the rest of the Romanian Andromeda Fanclub (this one's for you guys and gals ;) ). 


	2. Chapter 2

Sorry for the long wait...

I don't own Andromeda... cry

* * *

"So, this way we will be able to improve the security over those two sectors!" Dylan ended his strategy with a toothy grin and acknowledged the tide of applauses and cheers coming from his small, yet very important audience.

"Captain… I mean, Tri-Hunt, we wouldn't have expected anything less from you." Tri-Ortiz smiled and lightly bowed her head in respect.

"Well, as much as we would all love to hear about your latest combat plans, this remains the celebration of your Triumvir naming. So, what do you think? Could we let more important discussion for the future days and only drown ourselves in small-talks tonight?" Tri-Lorn joked and caused laughter in the somewhat crowded hall.

"Only if you promise to listen." Dylan smiled warmly.

"Tri-Hunt, I do not have to listen anymore. However, your commandors have." The man joked agaun and caused even more rumour.

"Dylan!" the Nietzcheean Matriarh appeared and signaled him to exit the room for a minute and follow her. The former captain nodded his head, made the appropriate excuses and left.

"What's going on?" he inquired.

"Several small prides will attack the Sabrans ina week at most. My presence there is required." She flatly explained.

"If it's Tamerlan…" the former captain started, but got cut off.

"These prides were our allies until six weeks ago, when the entire Pegasus Cluster broke away from the Commonwealth."

"Not a simple coincidence?"

"Not likely. My generals report me that these new enemies of ours are not only some of the weakest prides, but curiously enough, some of the peaceful ones too. However, it would seem that at a certain time they've all gone mad." Beka explained with a somewhat bored tone, letting him understand that this could mean nothing more than the usual.

"Well, then why do you have to go?" Dylan asked a bit cautious.

"Both Rhade and I have several doubts… and this might prove itself the perfect occasion to confirm one or more of those thoughts."

"Need some help?" his tone turned inviting.

"Maybe… Look, this may be just a hunch… but in case things turn for the worst, I will need back-up." Beka admitted and thanfully nodded.

"You know, I do have to take Andromeda on one last "symbolic" mission. Send Rommie the coordinates and we'll be there." He bowed his head.

"Thanks Dylan…"

"Matriarh, there you are!" Rhade's voice surprised the two, as the broad-chested Admiral approached them, bringing with him a quiet Tamerlan. As soon as he got a glimpse of Beka, the boy shot from the Nietzcheean's side and went directly next to her.

"Tam, why don't we go check out some of Harper's new devices?" Dyl;an offered, having noticed the woman's surprise and Rhade's embarrassment.

"Alright!" Tamerlan took the Triumvir's hand and proceeded in running to the short engineer's machine shop.

Found themselves suddenly alone, the two kept a deep silence, until the Admiral found enough strength to speak to his Matriarh… and former crewmate.

"You've asked Dylan for help."

"I take it that you don't agree with my decision?" she stared at him with an unreadable look.

"He might have been our Captain, but he is a Triumvir. His first priority if the Commonwealth and not a quarrel between the Nietzcheean prides!" Rhade gritted his teeth and stared back at her defyingly.

"Most prides form the Commonwealth, Rhade! Things are starting to return to the way they used to be!"

"Three hundred years ago!"

"After what happened with Tyr, all went mad. But now, the fact that the Nietzcheeans have the Progenitor's true reincarnation and the Matriarh, me, made them understand everything!" Beka rose her tone, trying to get something into Rhade's thick skull.

"And what if he doesn't show up and our fears are correct? Then what?" the Admiral demanded.

"He's Dylan! When had he ever let us down?" she felt all the calm slipping away… fastly.

"When we ended up in the Seefra system! I wouldn't know about you… but I don't want to repeat the experience…" he ended and turned around, leaving her alone in the hallway.

"What are you up to, Rhade…" Beka whispered sadly and, one long moment later, she left towards Harper's machine shop, where she knew that she was expected.

* * *

"And then you press this little button over here and it works like magic!" an over-extatic Harper was about to demonstrate a small-scale atom dezitegration, using carbon as experiment material. He carefully pressed the button and, after a second of silence, a small quantity of black dust flew directly in the man's face, covering him completely. The result: fits of laughter from Tamerlan, a disapproving shake of head from Dylan and several snickers from Beka.

"You're never going get over that." The Matriarh spoke after managing to calm down her pulse.

"I keep telling him that…" Rommie entered the room and passed from one side to another, as if nothing had happened and the funny engineer wasn't standing there, all covered in black dust. "And he never listenes." She ended, grabbed a load of metal parts and exited again, with the same serene face.

"Hahaha…" Harper started sarcastically. "I will manage to do this darn thing one day… Just you way and see…"

"Yup, that would be the day when pigs will suddenly develop wings and fly." Beka smiled evily and snickered some more.

"Can you do that again?" Tamerlan stared at him with large eyes, filled with amusement, but admiration too.

"Well, maybe some other time…" Harper offered and thanked the gods for the black stuff or, otherwise, his faint blush turning visible. He loved the little guy… inspite of his acendence… After all, he was pretty much considered more like Beka's kid, rather than Tyr's and that appeared to have a quite good influence on him. He was turning out to be much more peaceful than his father, but equally wise, strong and probably even good-looking. Only thirteen and he was already catching up with Harper easily. Soon we would turn out as tall as Beka, followed soon enough by Dylan. Well, as long as he would be capable to be the right leader, everything was worthy… even the scientific experiments which usually turned Harper, either black, red, blue or some other impossible colour.

"So, when are we leaving?" Dylan turned to Beka, letting go of Tamerlan, who went straight to Harper and started analysing his new "look".

"Rhade and I will be departing in two days. You are welcome to follow." Beka warmly suggested.

"Alright. I'll let the others know of this trip and we'll meet you there in exactly a week." Dylan ended, got up and walked to the exit.

"Dylan…" Beka's strange voice stopped him. "Just… promise me that you'll be careful…"

"Beka?" he eyed her strangely, unused to her careful and rather pleading tone.

"Just be careful… I have a bad feeling about this… and I don't want to start losing friends… Not anymore…"

* * *

"Now entering the Pegasus Cluster charted space." Andromeda's hologram announced with her so-ever calm voice. Turning to the screen, she displayed a map of the entire sector, which showed no ships anywhere near.

"Shouldn't they have been here… or at least somewhere in the neighbourhood?" a very puzzled Harper asked once he understood what the charts meant.

"That was the plan…" Dylan mumbled worried and left the flying commands, returning to the main ones, right in front of the large screens. "Andromeda search with every senzor you've got. Long range, short range, every detectors." He commanded and the holographic image complied.

"There are no ships within the next five systems. However, I am detecting some trails: ion rezidue and some hall fragments. Not to much though… Dylan, if a battle has taken place here, the ships must have left the system at least two or three days ago. No rezidue is larger than small-sized asteroids, which emans that no ship has been destroyed." Rommie spoke a moment later, after processing all the incoming data. She glanced over at her former captain, noticing the unhappy expression and confusion displayed on his face features.

"Days, huh? Andromeda take us out." He commanded and turned around to leave.

"Where to, captain?" she asked calmly, stopping him only for a second.

"You said you found a trail… Follow it and let me know when you find something…" he ordered and left the Command Deck in a rush. Crossing the hallways silently, not even returning the salutes he received from the crew members, he went directly to the hydroponics, where he hoped to find some answers.

"I heard the news!" Trance didn't even glance at him when he entered noiseless the large chamber. "I must say that I did not expect this." She left the side of the plant she was currently watering and turned to him, only to see him frowning.

"Beka said they would be here."

"Maybe the fight ended sooner and they went home."

"No! We would have met on the way." He excluded that possibility.

"Maybe things took a turn no one expected…" Trance started speaking her riddles and sat down next to Dylan.

"Now we're getting somewhere… Now, the only question is "what kind of turn"? The ships Beka took with her might not have been the most powerful from her entire army, but they were large and strong enough to at least offer the required protection. What happened here Trance?" he turned to the golden goddess almost desperately.

"You knew something like this would happen…" she only concluded.

"Beka told me to be very careful… I knew there was something she wouldn't tell me… but I never imagined that she could just disappeare like that!" he burst out.

"Well, maybe she didn't…" Trance suggested and looked up to see his stunned expression. "After all, she wasn't alone by far on those ships…"

* * *

Drop, drop… Somewhere near she could hear drops of water falling… It was annoying… It wouldn't stop and let her sleep… Damned water, damned planets… damned life.

Beka opened her eyes and looked around. At first, she felt completely numb and then, while her muscles were starting to work again, she started remembering everything… The fight, the enemies…

"Tam…" she suddenly realised and tried to get up faster, only to fail miserably. Her entire body hurt like hell and, unfortunately, she was no longer a sfit as she dwould have liked to consider herself.

"Don't try to stand… you won't succeed…" Rhade's voice was heard few metres away. Trying and even managing to turn at least a bit to him, Beka realised that he was as crippled as she.

"Great… Where's Tamerlan?" she mumbled and then asked loud enough for him to hear.

"When I woke up he was already gone… and I also can't hear any of our soldiers either… Only the bugs in this blastful cave!" the Nietzcheean burst angrily, reminding the Matriarh of the days spent on Seefra, when Rhade used to get drunk at the first sign of trouble and later get on with it.

"Let's just find a way to return to normal and get out of here. I need to find Tam…" she ended with a mumble and proceeded and moving around a bit, trying to make some sense of her condition.

* * *

"Where are you taking me?" the thirteen year-old boy demanded as two guards, which he recognized as being Nietzscheeans, dragged him on the ground and on to a set of large tents, settled near a large forest. Although he struggled, trying to escape the strong men, he would still pay attention to his surroundings, just the way both Dylan and Beka had taught him. When the moment was right he would escape and manage to run away, hopefully soon to be found by his friends. "Do you even have any idea who I am!" he asked loudly, this time even sounding like a pricky nobleman.

"Yes, as a matter of fact I do!" a voice suddenly rose above any other noises and Tamerlan felt a hand placed on his bowed head, somehow stopping all his struggle and shouting. Slowly, the hand moved and two fingers grabbed his chin, rising his entire face. Soon enough, the boys black eyes made a frozen light-eyed gaze. From the very first moment, the boy understood that those eyes belonged to an enemy and never a friend.

"Who are you?" he asked frightened, all his courage suddenly gone at the sight of the two orbs.

"Hm, your future guardian… and master…" the man simply answered and grinned demonicly, somehow showing the entire evilness inside his soul and thoughts.

* * *

Somewhere on Atolia, a world known by very few and reachable for even fewer, another day was starting. As the birds started their morning fussing throughout the trees, sounds from very far away managed to reach the forest's echoes… those sounds belonged to the sea, which laid only two miles further to the south from that spot. Apparently, it was going to be a beautiful day, just the way it's sunrise announced it to be.

"Lunar! Come tell us what joys and adventures this day will bring us!" a group of noisy little girls and boys ran to a tall and thin man, dressed in some kind of leather robe with black feathers stuck on it. In spite of his strange dark features, which almost seemed to be drawn on his skin, the man's entire being appared to glow with kindness and love. Although many would consider him cold, due to his appearance, everyone who had at least spoken to him once knew exactly how much goodness laid inside his soul.

"Hmm… This day will be as filled with as much happiness and as many new discoveries as yesterday was…" the man played his part to the children's delight and, after few more "prophecies" he sent the children back to their homes, where they were going to have breakfast before playing in the woods and even reaching the shore.

He watched them all running towards the wooden huts, enjoying their laughter and noises. He loved children and that was the only reason for which their parents would welcome hima dn allow him to spend so much time with them. Every day he would take them walking in the huge forest, always teaching them something new, weather it was a words, a skill or simply a song. And the children would always be impressed and say that they want to be like him when they would grown up. And he would smile and thank the gods that his blush could be easily hidden.

Suddenly, he found himself alone in the woods, surrounded by complete silence. Everything inside the alive forest had stopped: the animals, the birds… everything… A sudden chill passed throught his tall body, forcing his skin to powerfully glow once… and once was just enough for him to understand what was happening… or about to happen. The string of Fate had once again been lost by the Moiras and the Universe rested in a mortal's hand for the second time in that decay.

And still, the feeling of cold wouldn't go away, even after his superior senses had decripted the hidden information carried away by the wind… but only until:

"Trance…" the man opened his eyes widely and whispered harshly, staring at the ground covered in leaves below his feet. And then he looked up at the rising sun in the sky and shouted out in fear. "Trance!"

* * *

Tada! The new chappie! Don't forget! As usual, special thanks goto the Romanian Andromeda Fanclub!

Read and review! Please? Pretty please?


	3. Chapter 3

I don't own Andromeda...

* * *

The cave's entrance suddenly filled with metallic noises and Beka fastly rose up from her spot on the ground and, taking out the last gun their kidnappers had not found, she went deeper into the cave and got ready to face her enemies. She hid between two cliffs, her spot giving a pretty good image of the cave's interior… and the also allowing her to see Admiral Telemachus Rhade hidden in the same way as her, few metres in front of her, watching and waiting for the same persons.

As if out of nowhere, a shot hit a rock behind the Matriarh, startling and waking her up from the day-dreaming. Turning her attention to the exit, she saw the Nietzscheean already engaging the five guards that had come for them. His eyes spoke clearly: "We will not surrender… not that easy anyway…"

One second later, the blonde pilot joined her indirect descendant and started shooting at the soldiers who kept entering the cave. Unfortunately for the two, they soon understood that they were outnumbered by far and exiting the damned mountain, running for the camp, which none of them knew where it was, retrieving Tam and escaping alive was out of the question.

"You have no choice but to surrender." A strong male voice rose above the noises, as a new personaje made itself noticed. "Trust me, Matriarh… I could never harm you… nor young Tamerlan… you two are much too precious for us!"

Taking notice of the new entrance, Beka glanced from behind her rock, noticing that Rhade, still metres ahead, did the same thing. Looking at the entrance, she could clearly see the man that had spoken… and her blood suddenly froze: it was the former Fleet Marshall Attaturk… the Drago-Kazov General. Turning back to her, Rhade sent her a questioning and puzzled look. Beka nearly shrugged, staring back at him with fearful eyes.

"Off course, the Admiral is expendable… as any other guardian who would protect the main priorities with his life." Attaturk ended and waited patiently, as the two changed another look. One moment later, they both exited their hide-outs, one standing defyingly in front of the squad and the other adopting a more careful sight. Seeing the pair, Attaturk could only smile evily and order the men around him, with a simple nod of his head, to take hold of the two.

"Where are you taking us?" Rhade demanded as he was being pushed outside the cave.

"To meet the man behind all of this." the rogue Nietzscheean smiled dezarmingly again.

"You mean there's more than this?" the Admiral stared at him questioningly.

"This is merely the beginning!" Attaturk stated and walked away, in front of the group, leaving the two hostages behind, along with their guards.

* * *

"Light, illumination, creation… There is no place where life cannot be born…"

Trance started glowing as she stood in the middle of the large hydroponics. Her prophetic senses were calling out to her, sending her strange visions: fast, strong, numerous bits of information; noises, voices and even screams filled her ears, as a slideshow was played in front of her closed eyes.

"Trance!" she heard a shout that seemed rather real, unlike the rest of the rumours inside her mind. Hardly, the golden avatar managed to open her eyes, just in time to see a frightened Dylan staring at her. Turning her head to the right, she saw one of his hands on her shoulder and felt it as if it were to weight fifty pounds. "Trance, talk to me!"

But she only collapsed, overwhelmed by the visions' speed and force. Still, before she hit the floor, the Triumvir's arms managed to catch her.

"Beka… danger… Tam… save them…" were her only words, before she fell into a deep slumber.

"Trance… Trance!"

* * *

"Oh, how long I've waited for this day." The demon spoke with pure venom in his voice and looked at Rhade's fallen silhouette with disgust. Right after he had appeared, the Admiral had gone mad and tried to attack him. Unfortunately for the brave Nietzscheean, three massive guards had gotten hold of him and managed to put him down, hitting like maniacs and leaving him unconscious.

"You bastard! Where's Tamerlan? What have you done with the boy?" Beka shouted as he craddled Rhade's head in her lap, trying to evaluate how much damage the guards had done to him.

"Don't worry, he's somewhere safe… more or less…" the merciless voice spoke and then started to laugh. Beka looked up at the amused creature and glared darkly, sensing a very old, yet still alive anger rising again inside her soul. She had once escaped this death trap and she would just have to do it again.

"Demon! Weren't you supposed to be already dead or left in some forgotten place, eaten by worms?" she asked angrily, her eyes never leaving the stranger.

"I like how you and Captain Hunt have raised that boy. When I met him earlier I was actually starting to believe than he was not the son of Tyr Anasazi… but yours and Hunt's. How crazy is that idea?" he asked, once again amused. His tone was really starting to get on Beka's nerves, making her almost cry for giving up her weapon and not being able to shot a bullet right through the demon's head, right there, on the spot.

"About as crazy as you still being alive and well… as I can clearly see…"

"So… crazy, yet possible…" he mumbled.

"Shouldn't you be where your master, the Prince of all Evil is? She inquired sardonically.

"Are forgetting that I was never a servant of that dark god? I was not the one who had bargained with him in the last moments of life and I was definitely not the one posessed by him for months!" he approached her kneed silhouette and lowered his mouth to her ear, turning the meaning of his words even more painful. Slowly, Beka rose her head and met his gaze.

"This time, when you'll fall, it will be for good… Collector Pish Trayan." She hissed the words out, using all the hatred she felt for the particular man she had thankfully not met within the past eleven years.

* * *

"Lunar? What's the matter?" a little blonde girl, with eyes as blue as the summer sky, approached the dark-featured man with small steps. Her usual bright orbs were now filled with unshedded tears as she looked up at the his pained figure. He was barely managing to stand up, one of his hands clutching the clothes that covered his chest.

"Lia… you shouldn't be here… Go back to your parents…" he pleaded with a voice that betrayed his current condition.

"But Lunar, you are in pain! I don't want to you to see you hurt… I, I don't want you to feel bad…" the girl whispered, two tears falling on her rosy cheecks. She immediately came in front of him and stood stubbornly, yet sad, waiting for an explanation. In response, he managed to crack a smile, right before feeling another hit inside him. This time he couldn't hold on anymore and collapsed on the wooden floor, trying helplessly to shut the never-ending pain away.

"Lunar!" the girl shouted as she ran up to him.

"Lia… my name… I'm not…" he tried to whisper, but her small fingers stopped him as she managed to let out a charming innocent smile.

"I know, Lunar… I always have…"

"But… How?" he inquired absolutely stunned, the surprise managing to take away some of the pain.

In response, the girl's sad blue eyes gazed warmly down on him, while her right hand touched his chest, right above the heart. One moment later, a calm, dark blue light came out from below her hand, from inside him. The pain was gone, at least for the time being. Speechless, the dark-features man simply stared up at the ten year-old child, who had managed to literally take his pain away with a single touch.

A moment later, when she felt it necessary, her flesh left his chest, but she remained next to him, this time smiling completely. She had managed to heal him and that gave her a feeling of immense happiness.

"Don't you see? I have felt it ever since I was five year old and you where still a stranger to all of us. I have known who you were and where you came from." She lowered her face and whispered with staring right into his eyes. "I have always known it, Ione…"

"You are… You…"

"Yes… and don't worry, your Sun Goddess will be alright… You'll see… everything will turn out alright… it always does… the future is still undecided…" she ended her words and suddenly, Lunar understood everything that had happened to him within the past years… who he was… what his mission was… and what the girl is front of him meant… He understood it all…

* * *

"How is she?" a very worried Dylan turned to see Trance's asleep silhouette securely settled on one of the infirmary beds. It was ackward to see their own doctor fallen in this deep slumber and unable to wake up.

"Her condition is stable, from what I can tell. Dylan, you must understand that my database does not contain health parametres for Avatars. All my conclusions are based on simple observations." Rommie explained her doubts as she glanced from her captain to the golden woman.

"I got it… So, she's been like this ever since she collapsed?" he inquired and gazed at his ship's avatar.

"Yes… Well, she's mumbled several times in her sleep, but not somplete sentences." Rommie informed him.

"Can you tell me exactly what she said?"

"You could ask Harper to check the security cameras. Those should provide you with the correct data."

"Ok, tell Harper I'm on my way to see him." Dylan nodded and left the infirmary with fast steps. Trance's last words had disturbed him greatly. She had spoken of a danger that threatened both Tamerlan and Beka. Therefor, he immediately had to find and get them away from whomever planned on hurting the two. The Matriarh and Drago Museveni's reincarnation were not only important to the entire Known Worlds… but to him as well. The family Dylan had always dreamed on having had been represented by Beka and Tam within the past ten years… along with Andromeda's remaining crew. Harper, Rommie, Rhade and especially Trance meant a lot to him… and he wasn't prepared to let them go… none of them… even he had to pay with his life.

* * *

Silence. Not even a branch dared to move in the rebels' presence. Not even a bird dared to sing. Nothing dared to move… except for the precious thirteen year-old that kept struggling against his restrains, trying to get out of the large room containing all the required items fit for a king's liking. After his first meeting with the stranger, the guards had taken him to a pretty big building. He believed that this was going to be his enprisonment for the future… and he was right. A golden cage fit for the Progenitor's reincarnation.

"You might want to calm down. Otherwise all you energy will be spent and you will find yourself exhausted by nightfall." The same demonic voice was heard and the boy looked up to meet the frozen gaze of former Collector Pish Trayan and the evil smug that wore so frequently. "Bring her!" he turned for a bit and ordered. One moment later, a Nietzscheean showed up with Beka's limp body in his arms. He hurriedly, yet gently deposited the blonde woman on one of the beds inside the room. She wasn't bruised, but her unconsciouss state made Tam believe that the demon had harmed her.

"What have you done to her!" he shouted as he rushed to her side.

"Don't worry, she should be up and running by tomorrow." The Collector smirked and turned away, leaving the room along with the rest of the guards. For a second, Tamerlan had hoped that the guards will leave them completely alone, but all his thoughts were shattered the moment he heard two soldiers remaining outside the doors. He returned to Beka and tried to shake her body and call her, but all his efforts soon proved to be in vain. She had probably been sedated and, until the poison did not leave her blood system, she had no chance to wake up.

* * *

Harper watched Dylan closely as he stared at the hologram before him, showing Trance peacefully sleeping on the infirmary bed, very few times trembling during her slumber and whispering incoherent words.

"There! Stop there and enhance the volume level." Dylan pointed his index finger at the hologram and Harper followed his intructions.

"Cephes… Aldebaraan… Cygnus Eight…" Trance's whispers were replayed so that they could be audible to the two men. Dylan listened carefully and then turned to Harper, who was already searching for something in Andromeda's files. Looking at the short man's expression, Dylan smiled knowingly.

"Trace a map with all the given coordinates…"

"Already ahead of you, boss!" Harper grinned. "Thanks to Trance, we should, hopefully, have one clear route towards our goal."

"Finding Beka, Tam and Rhade." Dylan concluded and Harper could only nod.

"What I don't understand is how come they just disappeared like that. No trails, no messages, nothing… I mean, back in the old days, Beka would always at least leave messages in order to keep an eye on things."

"In that case, something really bad must have happened… Something that forced her not to contact us at all." The Triumvir concluded. "So, how does the map look like?" he inquired and Harper turned towards the very large screen behind him, pointing the divice he carried at it. Almost immediately, the written data on it disappeared, allowing several slipstream points to be described in detail by Andromeda's memory core.

"Something like this."

"Hmm, she's taking us one step at a time. Has she said anything else?"

"Nope. Look, she probably doesn't even know yet where they are and that's why she giving us these locations." Harper let out his best guess so far.

"Retracing their path. Hopefully we'll manage to find some tracks in these systems. I'm headed towards Command. You keep an eye on things and let me know if she speaks again or wakes up." Dylan said and already left the room.

"You got it!" were the last words he heard behind before reaching the hallways and crossing the decks onto Command.

* * *

"Where is Dylan Hunt?" the same question asked over and over again, as if the man who was interrogating him was a broken recorder that kept playing the same piece over and over again. And that started boring Admiral Telemachus Rhade to death.

"For the thousandth time: I don't know! Ask something else if you don't want me to fall asleep!" the Nietzscheean stated with a proud smug on his bruised and bloody face. The soldier in front of him clearly did not find the answer to his liking, because he signaled the brute to keep hitting merciless the dark-haired man.

"Tell me where Dylan Hunt is!" he ordered once again.

"You can beat as much as you like, you still won't get an answer from me… because I don't know!" Rhade shouted back, some parts of him already having gone numb due to continuous punches.

"I asked you a…" the soldier started but got cut off soon enough by an extremely familiar and annoying voice.

"I'll take it from here." Both guards suddenly stopped their current activities, stared at the old Collector and, slightly bowing their heads, they left the room without another word. Found himself alone with Satan himself, Rhade turned eager to rip the blastful coffs restraining his hands and kill the demon with his bare fingers. "You know, this way you will never be able to protect your Matriarh and that boy." Pish spoke slowly, as if he enjoyed to hear himself. Yet another thing Rhade found disgusting about the man in front of him.

"What do you want?" he decided to get to the point, not wanting to hear that tone again and again.

"Dylan Hunt's head on a silver platter!" the Collector spoke, sending shivers on Rhade back and forcing him to stare stunned into the demon's light blue eyes. How could someone so evil have such light-coloured eyes?

* * *

The drift was crowded, exactly how the Vedran Moon's avatar expected it to be. However, the child that was travelling with him found the metal construction absolutely amazing. Lia was curiously gazing at every detail and gasping every time she found something new… something she had never seen before.

"Ione, what are we doing here?" Lia finally asked after two hours of wondering through every attraction that the old and smelly drift could hold.

"Here we will meet some old and dear friends of mine." The dark-featured man smiled warmly at the energic girl.

"Oh! Will the Sun Goddess be with them too?" Lia seemed to turn enthusiastic again, as her enlightened eyes stared up at him.

"Perhaps she will be too." Ione tone became slightly worried. Last time he and Trance had encountered each other… a planet had almost been destroyed. Who knew what their cosmic meeting could lead to now. And yet, he felt so lonely and unfulfilled without her. He missed her… he missed the best part of him and the only reason for him to continue the struggle against any force of darkness.

"And I will get to meet another Protector?" the girl made herself present and gained another smile.

"Yes, Lia… Hopefully in a matter of hours, you will get to meet the Sun Goddess' Protector."

"And then we can go and save the Prince and his Guardians?"

"Yes, but for now we need to keep this between us." Ione lowered his tone and then placed a finger across his lips. Immediately, the ten year-old followed his gesture and, grabbing his much larger hand in her small fist, she pulled him around the drift's crowded hallways, the two almost immediately disappearing from sight.

* * *

All thanks go to the Romanian Andromeda Fanclub and those who have reviewed. Thanks a lot guys.

As for this chappie, R&R please!


	4. Chapter 4

I know, I know... long time no update... but hopefully that will change...

Don't own Andromeda... damn...

* * *

Last stop so far: Cygnus Eight.

Dylan stood in front of one of the very few windows that were connected directly with the visual sensors and replayed every change in their whereabouts, as soon as they received the signal from the drones outside. The Triumvir was leaning onto the "window's" frame, staring at a view that was extremely familiar: a nine-planet system with two suns. This configuration reminded him of the months spent trapped inside the Seefra system… with no place to go and almost no hope at all.

But still, even then he had someone by his side. Even though Beka always warned him about charging the deliveries, Rhade threatened to leave every time he got drunk, Harper refused to build several devices, Trance couldn't remember a thing and Rommie was gone… they had still remained a somewhat united group.

And now… now he was standing all alone, trying to figure out what had happened to a Commonwealth's Admiral, the Nietzscheeans' Matriarh and Drago Museveni's reincarnation.

"A penny for your thoughts." A rather shy and tired voice brought him back to reality and Dylan turned to see Trance Gemini, standing few feet behind him with a small smile on her delicate face. Even now, after her strength had been revealed, the former captain would still consider the golden avatar as fragile as a china doll.

"Hello, Trance… How are you feeling?" he stepped away from the frame and approached her.

"Much better than before…" she slightly bowed her head and then seemed to be a bit embarrassed. Noticing her frowns, Dylan asked.

"What is it Trance?" Before answering, the golden woman rose her eyes to him, just the way she always used to do when there was something wrong. "Trance?"

"Dylan, I've unconsciously brought you here… because there was something calling me here… But I do not know where Beka, Tam and Rhade are…" she spoke with a very sad tone, lowering her eyes again.

"Alright… do you know what or who called you here? And if you do… could they be able to help us find Rhade and the others?" he inquired.

"I don't know… but I am called here…" She explained quietly and Dylan understood exactly what she meant to say in not so many words. This was her way of saying goodbye… at least for the time being.

"Can you at least tell me where you are going or who are you meeting?"

"It's very near here… I can see metal… a lot metallic parts… So, it's probably a ship, but I cannot tell you more for now either. I'm sorry…" she spologized and lowered her eyes again.

"Will you come in time to find Beka, Tam and Rhade?"

"I can tell you this: in order to find them, you must follow Orion's arm from here on. I… I will try my best to be there when you'll need me, but, for now… I must find my answers here." Trance ended and looked up to see sadness imprinted on the Triumvir's face.

"Promise me that you'll be careful… I'd hate to see another one of us trapped in some forgotten place."

"I will be…" the vedran sun's avatar bowed her head respectfully and, one moment later, she disappeared into a flash of golden light, leaving the former captain alone… again…

* * *

When Beka regained consciousness, it was already evening. Groaning, she sat up on the strangely comfortable bed. As soon as she managed to focus on her whereabouts, she looked up to see a worried Tamerlan sitting on his own bed, metres away, with his knees rised to his chest and his eyes staring at her. Looking directly into his black orbs, Beka understood all his unasked questions.

"How long?" she only asked, gazing around the room, hoping that she might catch a glimpse of Rhade.

"They brought you yesterday evening… and no, the Admiral wasn't brought back." The boy answered her. Beka let out a sad smile, silently thanking him for the information. "Beka… who are these Nietzscheeans and why are they against us?" he finally asked after a long moment, during which the Matriarh already started checking the doors and windows, trying to find a way out.

"Well, some of them might be Nietzscheeans, but their boss is a very bad guy whose plans were pretty much destroyed by us, years back. So, he wants revenge…" she explained and kept searching.

"But why after all this time?" Tamerlan started shifting on the bed in order to see Beka at all times.

"Because he probably has now a small army for attack and defence, because Dylan became a Triumvir and… because he has finally found an opening that could elad him to us… So he did what every bad guy would do: he took it." Beka ended and let out a deep sigh, signaling that she had had no success in whatever she was planning.

"We're stuck?" the boy simply asked, already having learned his caretaker's reactions.

"We're stuck." The blond woman nodded and, turning around, she walked to Tam's bed and took a seat, right next to him. "You're not scared and that's good. Anyone else would have freaked out a thousands times by now." She smiled again.

"Well, I'm not just anyone." Tam grinned and received an amused look. "And plus, you need someone to rely on… considering the Admiral isn't here anymore…"

"Well, for now let's just keep our present parts: you'll be the calm kid… and I'll be the responsible Matriarh." She winked and turned around, facing the windows again. The fact that Rhade was missing for so long made her worry. If something happened to Rhade, then she was next on the list. Unfortunately, she suspected that Pish wanted to have Tamerlan as his own personal herald. In less than seven years Tam would become the leader of the Nietzscheans… and if the Collector could get under his skin, then the humanity would be in a lot of trouble. Yes, she knew that she had to get Tam as far away from Pish as possible with the first occasion.

* * *

Usually, people would stare at her, but hidden in such a large crowd and covered by her classic cloack, Trance was as good as invisible. She simply walked around the drift, not knowing where she was going and not understanding completely what she was doing there.

Having learned that a pretty large public garden could be found there, Trance decided to visit it, thinking that with flowers around her she might clear her thoughts and detect the source of her confusing visions.

As soon as she passed through the first trees, she could notice exactly how large and beautiful the garden was. The clerk she had asked for directions had not described entirely this place. Everywhere she looked she could see flowers of all colours, standing out between the green leaves. She was already walking towards the center, when a strange dialogue stopped her abruptly.

"Ione, when is the Sun Goddess coming?" the voice of a child inquired. Turning towards the voice, Trance could see a girl child, not older than ten probably, clinging onto a much older man's hands. Gazing at those hands, Trance followed their way up, only to meet the man's dark-skinned face… his face…

"Soon, Lia, soon…" he spoke on a warm tone, his entire body now being in the golden avatar's view. Suddenly, the thin smile faded away from his lips, as Lunar looked up to see the cloacked figure watching them. And then, he thought that if he had had a heart, it would've definitely stopped.

"_I found you… and I have to let you go…"_

"I won't let you go, Trance Gemini. You're the best part of me…" 

The two thought of the same memory as their eyes met. Light and dark… day and night… the Sun and the Moon of Tarn Vedra meeting one another, after all these years, on a place so strange and so far away from home.

Ione took one step towards her, trying to make sure that it was her and not another. As if acknowledging his gesture, the Sun Goddess took of the hood and allowed him to see her golden features, that were now probably sparkling with light, due to her intense feelings. At the sight of his beloved one, the moon avatar could only smile and respectfully bow his head. Instantly, a set of small hands clung onto his trousers.

"Is she the Sun Goddess? Is she your princess, Ione?" He looked down to see Lia's bright eyes and he nodded.

"Yes, fairy child… This is my princess… The best part of me…"

* * *

An entire day had passed, when, finally, the doors slid open and two soldiers came in carrying Rhade's extremely bruised body. Blood was dripping from several cuts and he was unconscious. They dropped him on one of the beds, on his belly.

"So much for the never-exhausted Nietzscheean." Beka mumbled as soon as the door closed again and she leaned over the Admiral, checking his pulse. Tam only sent her a half amused, half terrified glance and then proceeded in checking the large man for severe wounds.

"Found anything?" Beka asked after two minutes.

"Nothing fatal." Tam answered and then watched the blonde woman get up and get ready a bowl of warm water and a towel. Turning back, she stood on her knees next to the bed and started cleaning the Admiral's wounds. One minute later he finally reacted, waking up with a loud groan.

"What happened?" he asked, his words partly muffled by the pillow that sustained his head.

"You tell us. This is only the result and, might I add, that I haven't seen you like this since your mercenary days back on Seefra." Beka spoke as she kept cleaning his wounds. Noticing that he had dropped his face in the sheet, she pushed a bit one of his cuts, making him rise his head, groan again and glare at her. "Stay awake." She finished her work and pointed an authoritary index finger at him. He only groaned again.

"So, now what?" Tamerlan asked after a few long moments of silence.

"Now we find a way to get out of here." The woman crossed her arms in front of her chest, as she stood in front of the window and peered outside, watching the guardians surrounding the perimetre.

"That won't be so easy." Rhade's deep voice drew their attention as he finally sat up on the bed. "Pish wants Dylan, not us."

"And hoping that Dylan would come to the rescue, he trapped us. Great.. but the question remaining is "How?"… How did he manage to get us bu, surprisingly enough, convincing Nietzscheeans into faking a declaration of war against their own kind and then kidnapping us?" Beka's eyes turned dark with anger.

"Blackmail, drugs, you know Pish… everything's possible with him. He's pure evil and that's no news." The Admiral replied.

"Why does he want Dylan?" Tamerlan's sudden question forced the two grown-ups to stare at him.

"Well… Dylan was the main character that pretty much destroyed him by…" Rhade felt an urge to say "by killing your father", but he bit down his tongue as hard as he could and ended his sentence in a way as harmless as possible for the young boy: "hunting down the fake Collectors and helping a lot with the destruction of the Abyss."

"During the 5 years while we fought for the rebirth of the Commonwealth, we encountered many enemies… and Dylan, as our leader, achieved the most." The pilot spoke on a somewhat amused tone, trying to lighten up the atmosphere, after having realised what Rhade had wanted to say at first.

"Soo, this evil Collector… He only wants Dylan?" Tam asked further.

"The Collectors' true goal was to achieve as much information as possible and use it for good. Pish's true goal was to use that information for his own profit. In this case: power. He's probably had enough hiding and now he wants to be acknowledged as… what the hell it is that he wants to be!" Beka answered again.

"Only this time he's gone too far. He found a way to force our own kind to betray us and he took us hostages. Neither the Commonwealth nor the main Nietzscheean prides will forgive this. Someone will find us." Rhade spoke assuringly.

"The only question is if they'll manage to find us in time."

* * *

"Captain, I'm picking up a signal… It's one of ours!" Rommie announced from her commands, looking at Dylan who was occupying the normal spot, although he wasn't tehnically the captain anymore. Having noticed how easy the avatar had used his old rank, Dylan allowed a sad smile to appear on his only for a few moments.

"Identify." He commanded and wacthed the large screen in front of him.

"Sedna's Mystery." Rommie responded sharply and Harper looked up at her with widened eyes.

"Doyle's ship?" he wondered out loud and Dylan cast him an amused look.

"Think she might join us in our quest to find Beka, Tam and Rhade?" the Triumvir rose an eyebrow as Harper grinned back.

"It'll be good to have an ally in no man's land here." The engineer shrugged.

The two men nodded their heads in the same time and a loud enough "hmph" was heard behind them. Both of them turned simultaneously to see an irritated Rommie standing with her arms folded in front of her chest. They stared at her questioningly, while she just "hmphed" again and looked somewhere else. Dylan sent Harper a wondering look, while the engineer seemed a bit embarrassed and glanced at the dark-haired avatar again.

"I see… Move to intercept!" he asked quietly and, few seconds later, let out a deep breath as Andromeda's IA acknowledged his commands and the ship was already on its way. "Hail them."

"Aye." A still unhappy Rommie complied.

"This is Triumvir Hunt, from the Andromeda Ascendant. Please respond." Dylan spoke somewhat uneasy with his new title… again. In spite of his uneasiness, the image of Sedna's Command Deck apparead on the main screen.

"Triumvir Hunt, welcome to Cygnus Eight system. Captain Lar Kindro reporting for duty, Sir." A man wearing a High Guard uniform saluted Dylan.

* * *

It was a completely empty room, with only a holographic screen that was currently playing various video recordings from Andromeda Ascendant's memory core. The files had been extracted several months before the ship's departure through the Route of Ages, during the trial held on Tarazed.

There were two persons inside the rather small room, visualising the recordings. One of them was Pish Tryan who stood on his feet and only glanced from time to time to the other person: a blind woman sitting on a chair, tied down with strong chains onto the furniture piece. In spite of her visible handicap and her calm exterior, the guards had learned of her strange powers and had accepted their employer's demands: to lock the woman in a completely empty room and tie her down so that she couldn't move almost at all.

Still, her features were now pained and filled with pure hatred for her kidnapper, while she listened the recordings and even seemed, strangely enough, to see the flashing images. Magog, Bokor, all the enemies that Dylan Hunt had encountered during his years as a captain were now showed in these images, as if Pish was trying to tell the woman something. Finally, last but not least, specific scenes from Dylan's past, from before the Fall were played.

Unable to bare more, the light-haired woman closed her eyes, trying to shut away two tears. However, her executioner was thinking otherwise.

"I lived with the impression that Dylan Hunt was the last Paradine alive." The Collector ended the playback with the press of a button and turned to the chained woman. He stared right into her blind eyes that were now opened again. When he noticed that she wasn't going to answer, he walked towards her and asked harshly. "The world is about to change again… This time for good… And the Triumvir's future is uncertain… so who is to carry out your hopes for the future?" The two tears were now falling down her cheeks and the woman remained again unmoved, as a perfectly carved statue. "You will not win this war… because this war will be held between the living things, without the help of a foreign entity. Now tell me, who is the child that, according to your plans, will win this battle and lead further the Commonwealth?" The woman remained silent. "Who is this child? Who is the second Paradine alive?!?" The Collector lost his temper and shouted roughly. Suddenly, the woman's head moved up and her lifeless eyes seemed to stare right into his own, the sight sending shivers all over Pish's spine.

"Someone who will destroy you." She simply whispered and, one long moment later, looked away from the man, leaving him even more furious than before.

* * *

Stay tooned for the next chappie... which I will, hopefully, manage to update sooner ;) Until then, review please! 


	5. Chapter 5

Don't own Andromeda...

* * *

As soon as Doyle entered Command next to her ship's captain, Harper had a huge grin on his face and practically ran to the second android he had made in all his life. On the other side, Dylan held a warn smile on his face and welcomed the Mystery' captain, Lar Kindro.

Kindro was a young man, probably still in his late twenties, with short brown hair and a pair of strange light green eyes. He was quite a good-looking person and was know to have a strange positive effect on most people he met. Rumours back on Tarazed claimed that Kindro was to be the "next Dylan Hunt". And these rumours only made Dylan more curious and eager to meet his so-called "heir".

The first moment he laid eyes on Kindro, he understood why people would call him his "heir": althought they did not resemble each other at all, the youth did carry a strangely mature look… perhaps one much more serious than his age would usually allow. Smiling, the Triumvir held out his hand before the younger man could give him the military salute.

Startled by his gesture, the captain's green eyes glanced puzzled from Dylan's eyes to his extended hand. When the older one slightly nodded his head, Kindro gladly got hold on his right hand and shook it with an endless respect, bowing his head sharply in the same time and causing several strands of his hair to fall in his forehead.

"Sir!"

"Captain Kindro, I have heard of your brave successes and therefor I am honoured to finally meet you."

"Captain… I mean, Triumvir Hunt! On the contrary, I am the honoured one. The news of the war you led against the entity called Abyss have surrounded the Tri-Galaxies thousands of times and they still do. You are a living legend among us." Kindro spoke with enthusiasm and seemed to turn embarrassed by the mistake he had made at the beginning.

"Well then, my job was to keep the Universe safe… Same as yours and the rest of the High Guard's, for that matter."

"Triumvir, me and my fellow officers try to follow your example each day… and hopefully, we'll manage to do so and help the Commonwealth become once again as it was in the past." The captain bowed his head shortly. Dylan tried to hide his smile: the man in front of him was still a boy who knew few of what was hiding out there, in the chaotic vacuum that surrounded the millions of planets, suns and satellites. Still, he could feel that Kindro's intentions were the best and that, with a lot of practice and sacrifices, he could one day become one of the best.

"Well, the Commonwealth is safe for now, as it has been in the past years. However, there are some things still left unsettled."

"Yes… I received a strange request from the Sinti station. They asked me to keep an eye on any Nietzscheean ships that pass our range and verify them." The captain answered somewhat troubled.

"Indeed. I asked them to deliver that order to any Commonwealth ships in this sector." Dylan answered.

"Alright… May I ask why? Ever since the destruction of the Abyss and the discovery of the Nietzscheean Matriarh, we've had no more problems with them. One could say that peace is finally returning to these galaxies."

"Follow me." Dylan said simply and took the lead, going straight for the council room, away from any intruding eyes and persons that might stop him from talking seriously to the younger captain.

* * *

"So, what interesting projects have you added to your list?" Doyle joked a bit, looking around Harper's desks and panels in the slipstream core, his favourite place to work. 

"Well… nothing much… you know…" he answered in his usually evasive manner, allowing Doyle to understand that not all experiments had been successes.

"Harper?" she still went on, trying to get a clean answer from him and walked right behind him, just the way she used to before leaving Seefra… and Andromeda's crew. Turning around, his lips pressed in a thin line and his cute dimples making themselves visible, he finally confessed.

"Last month I almost deleted Andromeda's AI… again… And two weeks ago I accidentaly set one of the machine-shops on fire… But it was nothing intended, I swear!" the blonde man rose his hand in a funny defensive gesture.

"It's alright, Harper! I believe you." She answered, amused by his antics, and smiled softly. She had missed him and the ship… although…

"Hello Doyle." A voice she knew all-too-well was heard and the blonde avatar turned around, only to meet the Andromeda's dark-haired incarnation.

"Hello Rommie." She answered and Harper could immediately feel a certain vibe coming from both of them. Glancing from one to the other, he couldn't help but praise himself for unconsciously creating what no on else had ever managed: an android with feelings. Yes, although Rommie had gained her feelings during a certain amount of time spent with Andromeda's crew and Doyle had received those feelings once with Rommie's memory core, those two still represented the answer to one of the world's strangest questions: how could machines feel?

"Man, this must be heaven." He sighed and spoke with the usual smirk he usually wore on his face. "I get to see my two favourite ladies in the same room, at the same time." The result was Doyle's small hit in his chest and Rommie's incomplete glare.

"So, why did Dylan request back-up?" Doyle finally broke the ice and Rommie walked right next to her.

"We have a situation." She flatly explained.

"Beka, Rhade and Tamerlan disappeared a couple of days ago, during a mission." Harper sighed deeply again.

"This is serious!" Doyle suddenly became alert.

"And that's not all: apparently Beka suspected something before she left." Harper continued and gazed at Rommie.

"That is correct. Several days before she departed with Rhade and Tamerlan, she asked Dylan for assistance, in case she needed it. She never explained her real thoughts, but he believes that she might have partly known about a surprise attack."

"And why aren't we going to help them?" Doyle stared at the shorter man.

"Because we don't know where they are." Rommie stated simply.

"We were supposed to rendez vous back in Acheron, but they never showed up. We only found an old trail and we followed it."

"That trail and Trance's visions brought us here."

"Trance's? Then, can't she lead us to where they are?" Doyle inquired again. However, when Harper and Rommie glanced at each other for a few seconds, she knew that the situation had gotten worse.

"She's gone." Rommie answered and looked calmly at the blonde avatar, who couldn't believe her ears.

* * *

Although several hours had already passed and they still stood inside the beautiful gardens, Lia couldn't take her eyes off the golden avatar. Sure, she had always considered Lunar a beautiful, dark stranger, but the Sun Goddess was just so full of light and life. Her exotic features were the perfect opposite of Lunar's and she seemed incredibly fragile, in spite of the tremendous power she held. 

The young girl was currently settled in Lunar's lap and her upper body was leaned as much as possible, so that her small hands could touch the woman's golden skin and trace patterns over her forhead and cheeks. Yes, Lunar had always appeared as an, at least, intriguing person… but the Sun Goddess was absolutely fascinating.

When Lia's fingers reached her ears and entagled themselves in her long reddish hair, Trance couldn't help herself anymore and smiled widely. In response, the child strated giggling and felt Lunar's hands suddenly take hold of her small shoulders.

"Lia, don't be rude to our guest." He asked her, thus quietly apologizing to the solar avatar.

"But she's not a guest. You have known her ever since the beginning of time… and, in some strange way, so have I." The child once again shoked them with her strange language and turned to Trance, who was kindly smiling again.

"Alright, alright, but for now you have to allow her to get reacquainted with us." Ione spoke softly and the girl let out a sigh, but nodded her head. "Then why don't you go and visit the gardens once again. We will be on our soon enough." He suggested and let the girl down from his knees. However, Lia did not run in the gardens until she clung onto Ione's neck, got up and gave him a fast kiss on his right cheek. Turning to her, he smiled and signaled towards the garden. "Go on now." The child smiled and finally did so.

The two remained surrounded by silence, until Lia finally disappeared through the green plants and the multicoloured flowers everywhere.

"So, you have finally found her." Trance turned to Ione and the two found themselves staring into each other's eyes, once again wishing to remain like that for all eternity.

"I missed you." Came his reply, leaving her completely defenseless.

"So have I… but this time was necessary. It was necessary for the people of Tarn Vedra to remain alive, for my Sun to return home… and for Lia to be brought in our time." She responded and once again turned to where the girl had disappeared.

"She's still a child. Are you sure the right thing was done?"

"Dylan does not know about her… and so neither do our enemies. When the Abyss was taken down, none of us knew that old alliances had remained alive all this time. In order for the Commonwealth to grow once again as strong as before, these enemies must be destroyed as well. Otherwise another Worldship could be created and the humanity could find itself in extreme danger again." Trance spoke ona very sad tone, already somehow feeling the sorrow yet to come.

"But Lia is so young…"

"Yes… but she had the key to our survival. In the past, Dylan was trapped in a black hole for 300 years, he was then forced to create a new Commonwealth… and now he must assure its future, along with the entire humanity's."

"And he will… We must give him credit for all that had passed and believe in him as strong as we always had." Ione nodded his head determined and a long moment of silence followed.

"It was also my fault. Centuries ago I believe that only the Lambent Kith Nebulae had the answers. I understood my mistake too late." She closed her eyes and allowed a small and priceless tear to fall down her cheek. Suddenly, she felt a shield of cold surrounding her and a set of lips kissing that tear away. Opening her eyes, she met Ione's figure only a breath away.

"We had all been mistaken… and trapped with no way out… until now." He spoke and extended his palms.

"When we finally have a way out… the way we need." She took hid hands into hers and both of them looked to the middle of the garden, where a ten-year-old child stood in the rich green grass. She was looking up at the holographic ceiling, which showed a beautiful blue sky, with several puffy clouds here and there. Unlike other children, who pointed their chubby fingers at the fake sky and giggled happily at the sight of each cloud, Lia watched the slow movements with uncaring eyes, as if she were an adult who knew exactly what kind of "magic" produced those clouds.

* * *

It was pretty dark outside due to the early morning hour and Beka was counting on Rhade's improved vision. Both the Matriarh and the young heir exited their room behind the Nietzscheean Admiral, careful not to make a sound and allow the man to do his job. In an instant, Rhade attacked the two guards and, before one of them could make a sound, killed them merciless. As soon as Beka understood his rage, she covered the young teenager's eyes with both her hands, not allowing him to whitness the exact moment of the guards' deaths. 

Many times before, the Admiral had argue her for being so overprotective with Tamerlan, but Beka had always sent him to various places and ended the discussion soon after. She knew that Tam had to mature fast, considering the heritage that was waiting for him, but she also didn't want him to learn that everything could be solved in the last moment by killing. She knew that sometimes not even herself believed in such a pacific way of life, but she had seen Dylan successfully practice methods that harmed no one, at least not physically, and therefor, she wanted Tam to have the ability of dealing with his future enemies without necessarilly killing them in the process.

When Rhade turned to signal them that the coast was clear, she unfolded her fingers from Tam's head and made a face when she saw the Admiral's disapproving look. However, the boy took her hand in his and smiled almost thankful. This was his own way to inform her that he had accepted her decisions. Beka simply nodded again and proceeded in following the Nietzscheean.

Several minutes later, when they were a breath away from their escape, all the lights inside the large house were suddenly turned on and the unfortunate trio got trapped once again, before even having enjoyed a moment of freedom.

"My, my… it seems that you haven't found my accomodation too enjoyable… have you?" none other that Pish Tryan's voice was heard, making Rhade curse inside his mind all the gods he could think of. They turned around and saw the old Collector standing proud right in front of the large house. As usual, he did not carry a gun, something for which the Admiral considered him a complete fool, but the soldiers around them did and that proved to be more than enough as a threat. However, the look on Pish's face was more than enraged. 'They had almost got away.' He walked to the trio and watched them. "Shall I take it that an escape was your idea?" he tried to keep his anger in place while speaking to the Nietzscheean Matriarh. "Only a fool who has spent too much time with Dylan Hunt could have possibly come up with such a plan."

"Don't you dare speak to her like that!" Rhade ordered and took several steps towards the Collector, only to be trapped by three guards. "You have no right!" he struggled with no chance to free himself.

"I would suggest you calm down, Admiral Rhade, before the woman and the child suffer any wounds due to your recklessness. Take them inside… and keep Rhade here for the moment. I have a special treat for him." He ordered and Beka was already being pushed back towards the mansion, with Tam's hand clinging onto hers. Pish sent Rhade another malefic glare and then proceeded back to the house himself, leaving the Nietzscheean with the other set of soldiers.

"You really think I wouldn't be strong enough to protect Tamerlan?" Beka wondered out loud with disgust inside her voice. The boy suddenly looked up at her, with wide-opened eyes. She had used one of their distress signals. However, the Matriarh turned completely away from him, eyeing the Collector who was walking less than several feet behind them, and stopped abruptly. Leaning to her right side, she hit with all her strength one of the guards, fastly managing to dodge the second soldier's attack. "Tam, run!" she shouted and hit the second guard, already having noticed that the first soldier was starting to wake up. Tamerlan did not wait to be told a second time, and disappeared back inside the house, on the only free route.

Unfortunately for Beka, after several more hits, other Nietzscheeans appeared out of nowhere and got hold of her. With her lower lips already bleeding and several bruises on their way to appearing on her pale skin, the Matriarh felt a deeper pain: Tam. He had run back inside the house and if he did not manage to escape quickly, he would be found once again. However, when a strong light emerged from the mansion and Pish's eyes widened with fear, Beka knew they hadn't been the only ones held hostage inside that place…

"Tam, run…" were the last words she spoke before falling into a deep state of unconsciousness.

* * *

The young boy found himself running inside the mansion not knowing where he was or where he was running to. He was in a state of shock and he was doing his best at remaining calm. He took numerous turns, already hearing the guards following his tracks. He ran faster, until he suddenly found himself in front of a strange set of stairs, going right below the ground level. It appeared to lead to the house's basemenet, which was most probable drowned in darkness. And still, there was something about the air below that called out to Tam's senses. He felt that there was something down there which could offer him protection… something… or someone… 

Without a second thought, the boy walked down the stairs in a rush. He could still hear the noises not far behind him as he kept climbing down, further and further away. The sensations he was feeling resembled those he usually passed through when Trance played hide and seek with him. It was as if, even he was to be found, it wasn't a bad thing. He couldn't quite explain it, but the atmosphere inside the underground reminded him of the Vedran Sun's avatar.

Strangely enough, the found the basement one large set of hallways, perfectly illuminated. It looked ackward, but the boy still left the stairs and walked further away. He could see many doors opened… and one, only one, hidden in the far end, closed. Curiosity took over him and he carefully walked towards that specific door. He reached right in front of it and rose his hand, grabbing the handle and slowly turning it.

"Milord!" the Nietzscheeans had finally caught up with him. The boy gave them only a second-lasting glare. "Milord, don't go in there! A great danger lies within that room! We beg of you, do not enter that room!" the man's voice brought even more disgust inside the youth's thoughts. Nietzcsheeans were not allowed to beg!

In spite of the guards' presence, Tamerlan turned the handle completely and opened the door, entering the darkness which hid behind it one moment later.

Frightened, the soldiers looked at each other and silently decided, several moments later, to follow the teenager. They approached the now partly opened door, pushed it further away and entered the darkness as well. They expected anything to lie inside that place: a monster, a ruthless killer, even the ghost of Drago Museveni himself… everything but not what was actually held in there.

They barely managed to catch a glimpse of Tam's still body. He was standing in front of a large wood chair, unmoved, almost breathless, staring at whatever was sitting on that piece of furniture. In the madness that followed, only the sound of iron hitting wood could be distinguished.

* * *

The multitude of pictures entered both Trance and Ione's minds at an almost painful speed. Both of them gasped at the sudden contact, as images of Beka and Rhade, both standing in the way of a huge light wave took over their attention. 

"What is it?" Lia's worried voice woke them up and made them stare at her. "What happened?" she walked to them and demanded. "Is it the Prince? Has something happened to him?"

"No… it's not him…" Ione answered, still trapped inside the day-dream.

"Beka… and Rhade…" Trance spoke in the same manner.

"The Queen and her champion." Lia said and forced Trance to sent her a puzzled look. It seemed that the girl-child had chosen nick-names for Andromeda's entire crew. It was strange and yet incredibly familiar in the same time. Although she had been raised several years inside this Universe, Lia held onto her true Universe's principles and ways of life with a death grip. The child probably considered her journey a field trip of some kind. It was curious, but it meant that this way the child could keep her mind sane and not go mad.

"Yes." Ione nodded his head, before the sun princess could say anything else. She looked at the moon avatar, Lunar, as the girl had named him, and felt a sudden calm take over her soul. She had no idea how he could influence her moods like this, but everytime she was scared of something, he could always offer her the calm and peace she required, in order to think her way out of that certain situation. She smiled as a "thank you" and Ione knew that he would treasure that smile until the end of time… just the way he did with all the memories they shared together.

"Are we going to save them? Are we going to save the prince too?" the child restlessly asked as she glanced from one avatar to the other.

"Yes, the time has indeed come." Trance bowed her head and her eyes never left Ione's.

"Come on then! We must be prepared to meet the evil warriors." Lunar finally took his sight from her and turned to the blonde child who was already grinning. He opened his arms, just in time to receive Lia's body crashing into his.

"Finally… I will finally get to see my brother…" the girl whispered happy, as she closed her eyes and enjoyed the moon avatar's embrace.

* * *

I really hope my chapters make sense 'sigh'

In the end, special thanks to my only reviewers: ilexia and the one. As for the rest of my readers: R&R!!!!


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